BILL REQ. #:  S-1433.1 

READ FIRST TIME 02/16/11.   

     AN ACT Relating to the unlawful dumping of solid waste; and amending RCW 70.95.240.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 70.95.240 and 2001 c 139 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) After the adoption of regulations or ordinances by any county, city, or jurisdictional board of health providing for the issuance of permits as provided in RCW 70.95.160, it shall be unlawful for any person to dump or deposit or permit the dumping or depositing of any solid waste onto or under the surface of the ground or into the waters of this state except at a solid waste disposal site for which there is a valid permit. This section does not:
     (a) Prohibit a person from dumping or depositing solid waste resulting from his or her own activities onto or under the surface of ground owned or leased by him or her when such action does not violate statutes or ordinances, or create a nuisance;
     (b) Apply to a person using a waste-derived soil amendment that has been approved by the department under RCW 70.95.205; or
     (c) Apply to the application of commercial fertilizer that has been registered with the department of agriculture as provided in RCW 15.54.325, and that is applied in accordance with the standards established in RCW 15.54.800(3).
     (2) When enforcing this section, the enforcing authority shall make every effort to determine and identify the person responsible for illegally dumping solid waste before requiring the owner or lessee of the property where illegal dumping has occurred to clean up the site.
     (3)(a) It is a class 3 civil infraction as defined in RCW 7.80.120 for a person to litter in an amount less than or equal to one cubic foot.
     (b) It is a misdemeanor for a person to litter in an amount greater than one cubic foot but less than one cubic yard. The person shall also pay a litter cleanup restitution payment equal to twice the actual cost of cleanup, or fifty dollars per cubic foot of litter, whichever is greater. The court shall distribute one-half of the restitution payment to the landowner and one-half of the restitution payment to the jurisdictional health department investigating the incident. The jurisdictional health department must reserve one-half of the restitution payment to assist property owners with clean up when the person responsible for the illegal dumping of solid waste cannot be determined. The court may, in addition to ((or in lieu of part or all of)) the cleanup restitution payment, order the person to pick up and remove litter from the property, with prior permission of the legal owner or, in the case of public property, of the agency managing the property. The court may suspend or modify the litter cleanup restitution payment for a first-time offender under this section, if the person cleans up and properly disposes of the litter.
     (c) It is a gross misdemeanor for a person to litter in an amount of one cubic yard or more. The person shall also pay a litter cleanup restitution payment equal to twice the actual cost of cleanup, or one hundred dollars per cubic foot of litter, whichever is greater. The court shall distribute one-half of the restitution payment to the landowner and one-half of the restitution payment to the jurisdictional health department investigating the incident. The jurisdictional health department must reserve one-half of the restitution payment to assist property owners with clean up when the person responsible for the illegal dumping of solid waste cannot be determined. The court may, in addition to ((or in lieu of part or all of)) the cleanup restitution payment, order the person to pick up and remove litter from the property, with prior permission of the legal owner or, in the case of public property, of the agency managing the property. The court may suspend or modify the litter cleanup restitution payment for a first-time offender under this section, if the person cleans up and properly disposes of the litter.
     (d) If a junk vehicle is abandoned in violation of this chapter, RCW 46.55.230 governs the vehicle's removal, disposal, and sale, and the penalties that may be imposed against the person who abandoned the vehicle.